Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to hitch City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial Faculty District, stopped at the least 19 officers from breaking into the varsity because the gunman opened fire for no less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't beneath an energetic risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the appropriate resolution. It was a unsuitable decision. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that will let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers have been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly identify him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC Information.

As the group demands answers and pieces together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain at the United Unbiased School District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, according to the Uvalde Leader-News.

The previous chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on charges of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo instructed the Chief-News that he was eager to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We want to be certain that we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-Information. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to those in need,” the newspaper said. 

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the bottom operating. I have loads of concepts, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo advised the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, exactly one week after the Uvalde shooting.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC Information Digital, based mostly in Chicago.